a tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values.

So… what’s wrong with materialism? On a world-wide scale, there’s too much junk and wasted resources in the world. Garages full of plastic toys, rusted metal tools, and junk many of us will never use again. Our dumps are literally overflowing with junk. You don’t need to be “green” or an “environmentalist” to cut down on your part… but I’m not here to talk about that. I want to convict you on a personal level.

We’re all losing focus.

The more physical objects we “own”, the more it clutters our minds.

We have so many “things” that it has become easier to waste our time than to be productive. How many hobbies or sports have you tried over the years but never stuck with? Our garages are full of things we’re afraid to throw out because it might become useful one day or because it holds sentimental value.

What if we threw all of that away?

This year, I decided to do that. I threw away, donated, and sold most of everything I owned… except for those things I wanted to spend time working on. Now, when I look in the closet, I don’t see a closet full of old games and junk. Now I see a foam roller, a yoga mat, and my workout shoes. I open that closet every morning and I’m reminded it’s time to work out. My desk is no longer littered with papers. It’s just my computer and my external monitor. I am reminded everyday that I have a clean, open desk to write these articles with.

This is minimalism.

Minimalism is clarity and focus. Minimalism is intentional living and freedom from possessing. It’s a rebellion agains the culture we live in that says, “you need this” to succeed. True minimalists own extremely little. You’ll find articles online of people who say they own less than 100 “things”. While this is all great, I think it misses the point. The point is the rapid decluttering of life and a renewed focus on what we care about and what we’re passionate about.

Minimalism is the idea that you can live an intentional, meaningful, and simple life while not being superfluous or materialist.

This isn’t an article on religion. Stay with me! Today is a short pep talk and return of Unlifer. Sorry about the break!

Everyone has some sort of God.

You do. I do. Your Mother does.

Be it an idol, money, or even your spouse, all of us consume our life and energy with something. Your God can be defined by what you spend most of your time thinking about. It could even be food. How many of us are obsessed with fried foods and soda? Seriously think about this. What do you spend your time thinking about? You think about something. You have to, or you wouldn’t be reading about this.

But what happens when that one thing is torn away from you?

Tragedy strikes.

Sometimes… things just happen. The world around you seems to crumble. Someone dies, something tragic happens, or you just can’t seem to get up and do something. Maybe it’s depression. Maybe you’re just going through a rough time. A storm could tear away your home. You could get fired from your job. Your spouse could die. Well, you get the point.

Now what?

Whatever you do, you can’t let this loss ruin you because there is still hope.

Whatever that is, whatever you’re going through, it’s not worth your life. You may need to grieve or work through your issues for a while, but you can’t give yourself to it. You can’t let it consume you.

You’re worth more.

Your time, your life, and your energy are worth more than left being consumed by what is keeping you down. You can make a difference still. You will live on.

This too shall pass.

…but more importantly, what are you making your ultimate in your life? And is it really worth it?

The Rumor Life

The rumor life is the most depressing of the three. It’s comfortable, but not great. You dream of winning the lottery, play video games, and pretend everything is great. You have a desk job. You follow the daily routine: you wake up, get ready, go to work, come home, sleep and repeat. You love to daydream but never, ever act on your dreams because you know they’re not possible because it’s wishful thinking.

You up these comfortable walls and boundaries around your life. It fits perfectly inside your box.

This is the great facade.

This is the person that, after a generation, will unfortunately be forgotten and buried beneath millions of forgettable people.

That’s the worst part…

The rumor life is forgettable.

The Myth Life

The myth life is the most mediocre of the three. You’re well within your comfort zone but sometimes you venture out. Maybe for a girl or your best friend, but most likely for yourself. You happened to find something you were passionate enough about that you took steps towards it. You finally felt like it was within your grasp. Then something happens. You failed and you hated it so much that you went back to the rumor life again.

Like the rumor life, you have perfectly constructed walls. They have windows to the outside world. You end up achieving a lot of cool things in your life, but in the end you never did anything great.

This is the great let-down.

This is the person that, after a couple generations, will also be forgotten and buried with the rest of the mediocre people.

The myth life is ultimately… mediocre.

The Legacy Life

The legacy life is the most memorable of the three. These people span from doing great things to legendary things. You often leave your comfort zone to help people. You love doing what you do because you made a conscious decision to go after what you love. You are the person that learns from your failures and use them to fuel your passion. You overcame adversity or tragedy. You made a difference.

Unlike the other two types of lives, the legacy life is remembered. Whether remembered by family or by millions of people for the difference you made, you are remembered. You made an impact on the lives of people that mattered to you.

This is the great Unlife.

This is the person who’s legacy will be remembered for generations.

The legacy life is the most fulfilling.

But really, there are hundreds of different kinds and types of lives. The type you choose is up to you. Do you want to live a forgettable life? A mediocre one?

Or do you want to leave a legacy that will be remembered for generations? Because that’s what you were meant to do. You are meant to live intentionally. You are meant to do epic things. If you were made for this, what are you waiting for?

Today’s post is a short pep talk as I continue to focus on writing of the eBook.

Have you ever woken up in the morning and wondered how you arrived here? Sometimes we make decisions out of necessity or fear instead of intention. We live accidentally and end up wherever our circumstances and environment take us. We’re afraid if we make a leap of faith to try something new that we might, gasp, fail. We’re not living intentionally. We pretend we’re okay with our current life because it’s just fine.

But not great.

So we never leave our comfort zone.

Your life is the sum of all of your choices and decisions. Whether you make those decisions intentionally or out of bad habit is up to you. If you ever going to get out of that rut, you’ll need to…

I am starting something new today and I am hoping you’ll join me. It’s called The Social Media Cleanse.

You Have Control

How much influence on your life do you think you control? Consider the potentially infinite influences: radio, television, ads, internet ads, newspapers, blogs, social media, ad nauseam. Not to mention actual people in your life with influence over you (negative or otherwise). It’s limitless. If there are so many, why do most people not control what is within their power to control?